LPG crisis: Hotel closures hit food delivery riders hard in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: The sudden closure of hotels and restaurants in Vijayawada due to a shortage of commercial cooking gas — linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran — has severely impacted thousands of food delivery workers in the city.With eateries suspending operations, orders on platforms like Swiggy and Zomato dropped sharply, leaving delivery partners struggling to earn their daily income. Nearly 4,000 people in Vijayawada depend entirely on food delivery services for their livelihood. With major hotels and popular tiffin centres closed, workers say they are left waiting for orders that rarely arrive. "We used to complete 15–20 orders a day. Now we hardly get 2 or 3," said Srikanth Bathula, a delivery partner. "Without restaurants operating, our work almost stopped. It's very difficult to manage daily expenses."Another worker, Sravan Kumar Sandra, echoed the concern: "We are completely dependent on these apps. Since most hotels are closed, there are no orders. Many of us don't know how long we can continue like this."Facing uncertainty, several delivery workers have begun registering with bike taxi services to sustain themselves. "Some of my friends already started working with bike taxi apps. We may also have to do the same if the situation continues," Sravan Kumar added.Workers say they hope the LPG shortage will be resolved soon so that restaurants reopen and their livelihoods return to normal.